Northwestern University Press and the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL) are pleased to announce the establishment of a new series of critical companions to Russian literature. Under the direction of the AATSEEL Publications Committee, leading scholars will edit volumes intended to introduce classics of Russian literature to both teachers and students at the high school and undergraduate levels. Each volume will open with the volume editor's general introduction discussing the work in the context of the writer's oeuvre as well as its place within the literary tradition. The introductory section will also include considerations of existing translations and of textual problems in the original Russian. The following sections will contain several informative and wide-ranging articles by other scholars, primary sources and other background material - letters, memoirs, early reviews, maps, and annotated bibliographies. Combining the highest order of scholarship with accessibility, these critical companions will illuminate the great works of Russian literature and enhance their appreciation by both teachers and students.